We are off to a great start this year in Science!

We have covered a variety of material already this year and have had some great labs to go along with them! Some of the labs have been "Engineering Boat Lab", "Metric Olympics", "Compound Models", and "Solutions Lab".

Learning about our Earth and Atmosphere

We have been in our Weather and Climate Unit the last couple of months. We have been able to journal weather conditions, study the composition and conditions of our atmosphere, and apply our knowledge to current events. One of our labs was analyzing the effects of radiant heating on different types of materials.  We were able to use temperature probes and graphing calculators to watch the heating and cooling cycles.  We also have made scaled models of our atmospheric layers of Earth.

Engineering Olmpics

Recently, on March 1^st, 2014, we took ten 7th graders to participate in UALR's Engineering Olympics.  The competition involved 6^th-8^th grade students from around the state.  The group of students prepared for the competition by meeting several times after school to design and build their entries.  High school engineering teacher, Josh Lieblong, and several engineering students volunteered their time by providing valuable knowledge and skills to help with the projects.

         

 Elizabeth Craigen, Katie Zabel, and JD Otts participated in the toothpick bridge competition. Their bridge, built only by the toothpicks and glue provided by UALR, was load tested until either a ¼” deflection occurred or breakage.

         

 Joseph Larocca, Myles Tipton, and Mauricio Barrera participated in the race car competition. They designed and built their car using materials provided by UALR. They had to calibrate the car to stop in a certain distance without going over.

         

 Drake Toll, Lydia Ashley, and Trevor Renfroe participated in a Critical Thinking Competition that involved the application of Math and Science concepts.  They also helped with the design and construction of the other entries.

          

Egg Dissections

Part of our curriculum is to dissect and analyze the parts of a poultry egg. The students were able to do that this week and use Pro-scopes to look at the different components of the dissected egg close up. 

What's going on in Science Class?

A lot!!! We have been studying body systems still and had a couple of labs this week to support that learning. One lab had students discovering the 4 types of taste cells in their mouths. They tasted samples of salty, bitter, sweet, and sour liquids on different zones of their tongues. Another lab provided students with sheep organs donated by Cypress Valley Meat Co. Students were able to investigate the various organs and see how they work together and are connected.  It was a great learning experience for the students!

2nd Quarter Can Drive Winner!

Congratulations to 1st Period Science! They were the winners of our 2nd quarter bringing in a total of 851 cans.  They were awarded with a do-nut and hot chocolate party. We collected a total of 3,175 cans this quarter and will again donate the proceeds to a local charity within our schools.  So far this year we have collected 12,841 cans!